Commonly automotive vehicles have had an electrical system for controlling a variety of vehicle functions comprising an electronics module in a protective housing connected by a harness to a separate bussed electrical center. The electronic module operates at signal level currents while the electrical center operates at higher power levels and is coupled to fuses, relays and devices capable of high current levels. Both components accept one or more harnesses from the vehicle with separate connectors. This arrangement is expensive, requires a large amount of packaging room in the vehicle, and has lower reliability due to the large number of wire connections.
Attempts to integrate the electronic and power functions into a single package have resulted in assemblies which have a package shape which is difficult to utilize in a vehicle, have a complex or an expensive connector between the two units, or requires a large amount of circuit board space for connectors. The U.S. Pat. No. 5,581,130 to Boucheron entitled "CIRCUIT BOARD FOR THE CONTROL AND/OR POWER SUPPLY OF ELECTRICAL FUNCTION DEVICES OF A VEHICLE" is one example of such an attempt. There a plurality of circuit boards are employed or, in a single board configuration, a large package size results due to the placement of connectors and devices on only one side of the package.